I wanted to grab the wrench from him and swing it hard enough to crush his skull or take off half his face, but instead, and without another word, I got into my car and drove home.

As soon as I parked out front I pretended to go to the garage before heading for the woods on foot, making sure I stayed hidden from the road, watching where I stepped as I got closer to Keenan’s place, so I didn’t alert him to my presence by snapping dry branches.

I watched him slide underneath his car on a creeper, and my heart rate picked up. Willing myself to cross the road slowly, carefully, I checked for traffic, pedestrians and dog walkers, but, as always, our lonely street was empty.

Keenan disappeared farther under his vehicle, almost to his knees. I looked around, saw he’d opened another can of beer and had left his cell phone on the floor, that little bit too far out of his reach.

Two quick steps and I bumped the side of his Subaru with my hip as hard as I could. The car wobbled, falling as the scissor jack gave way and landed on the ground with a metal clang.

Keenan let out a scream. It was louder than I’d anticipated, he still had a bit of fight in him. I walked to the garage door and hit the close button with a shirt-covered finger before kneeling beside him. His head was turned toward me, his face red, eyes bulging from the weight of his pride and joy that was now crushing his lungs.

“Help...” he gasped. “Help...me...”

“You ruined my life,” I said slowly, smiling as he cried out again and took another breath, much shallower this time. “Now I’m going to ruin the rest of yours, and you’ll never, ever know what really happened to Celine.”

31

LILY

I couldn’t sleep, spent the entire night tossing and turning, trying to figure out what to do. One thing was clear, I wasn’t wrong about Maya, and Ash needed to know the truth. I couldn’t believe how she’d come here, how she’d had the downright audacity to mock and challenge me, and any doubts I’d had about how deranged and twisted she was had long evaporated. I thought about going back to the house to try and talk to Ash, but knew she’d be there, ready to spin more lies. Somehow, I had to get him on his own, make him see her for what she was: a compulsive liar. But how when they were heading to Brookmount?